Series 5 Episode 1: The Lonely Road
by GallifreyGirl
Summary: Set after series 4 and The Next Doctor, this is the series that never was. Dylan Harris is a very lonely girl, but when she encounters an invasion party and a strange man, her life changes forever. Complete.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Hunger.

A burning, insistent hunger.

The swirling stars and galaxies floated past, silent and lifeless.

Food.

Must find food.

A small light, a planet, insignificant, primitive life forms.

But wait…what was that? That smell, so much nutrients, so much life!

The pod changed its course, humming slightly it drove towards the light.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

BANG!!!

Dylan Harris started, the cold glass of the window reflected her bleary eyes back at her. She sat up straight and stretched, her bones cracking slightly, what was that? She shifted on the window seat and looked out of the window.

An eerie green light bathed the park trees opposite in an earth areal glow, casting the night out and creating weird shapes and shadows amoungst them. Did the 'bang' have something to do with it? Dylan frowned, if she had missed something because she had been asleep she'd kick herself. Frantically she opened a well-worn book resting beside her. The pages fell open easily, the spine was loose after being bent back so much, Dylan would have to be more careful if she didn't want to replace it.

"2:33 am", she muttered as she scribbled furiously, "Loud noise, similar to a large object falling to earth, followed by a suspicious light." She stopped writing and nodded satisfied, then a dark frown crossed her face.

"But if I ever get to see or do anything interesting in this dump, I'll eat my diary". She closed it with a thump and look back at the night sky. The green light was fading now, just another anomaly in this new world. People were getting used to aliens now, what with the 'Christmas Day Curse' and the planet being stolen. That had been weird, but Dylan had recorded everything, even the tiniest UFO sighting.

There was a creak outside the door. Dylan leapt off the seat and dived into her bed. Pulling the covers over her face like a child, coward. Then again not even the scariest monster from outer space would want to face Mrs Grinchley or 'The Grinchley' as the kids called her. There was silence outside, false alarm. Dylan sighed and pulled the duvet back a bit so she could look out of the window again.

"If there are aliens out there," she whispered, "please abduct me!"

~*~

"Come on!"

The Doctor, irritated, banged on the console with a mallet. Lights flashed madly back at him, and the TARDIS emitted a groan as if in protest.

"Well if you would land in the 1930's like I asked then I wouldn't be hitting you would I".

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and stood back from the control panel, the mallet raised threateningly. He was a skinny man, who looked around 30 but was a lot older. Well…874 years older to be exact. He had scruffy, brown hair and was wearing a blue suit with a red tie and thick rimmed glasses. This was a Time-Lord, the last of the Time-lords, in his fantastic time machine, able to travel anywhere, anytime, saving worlds and civilisations from terrifying monsters, alone.

The TADIS shuddered and clanked, rocking The Doctor off his feet. Doctor, mallet and glasses went flying across the console room, and landed in an un-tidy heap several metres away from the control panel. The TARDIS stopped swaying, and the vast room was calm.

"Well…now you've got that out of your system, maybe you'll let me drive you now", The Doctor muttered as he un-tangled himself from various wires, and re-adjust his specs. The TARDIS hummed contentedly, and The Doctor rolled his eyes as he patted the console affectionately.

"Yeah, your right, where would I be without you eh, girl? I'm never alone with you".

The Doctor sighed and looked up at the glowing column in the centre of the room, the sound of ancient engines slowly grinding filled his ears. _Everyone has someone, _he thought solemnly _except for me_.

A shrill beeping interrupted The Doctor's grim thoughts. He pulled the monitor screen round to face him and leant in, squinting.

"What!?"

The Doctor recoiled, shock written in his features.

"No…but…but that's impossible."

He reached out and flicked a switch near him, the TARDIS juddered as it changed course.

"Oh I don't think so matey, not on my watch"

The Doctor leapt into action pressing buttons, and adjusting levers. His face was dark now, serious, trouble was brewing.

"Forget the 1930's, we're setting a course for earth 2009. They just can't leave that blasted planet alone, can they old girl?"

The Doctor stopped suddenly and looked at the monitor.

"And I'm talking to my ship, I need a new companion."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dylan shut her eyes tight, the noise of the busy kitchen filled her head. Three boys ran past jolting her stool.

"Whoa, watch it will you!" She glared after them as they skidded into the hallway.

"Somebody's grumpy this morning, been looking at the night sky again?"

A middle aged man sat down opposite her, smiling warmly. He had kind green eyes which twinkled as he smiled and black curly hair.

"Hi Geoff", Dylan replied meekly, a tired smile spreading across her face. The one thing that made living here bearable was Geoff, he shared Dylan's passion for extra-terrestrials and regularly sat with her, pointing out important constellations and sightings.

"See anything interesting last night?" Geoff inquired, leaning forward to set his tea down in front of him.

"No…not exactly", Dylan played with her cereal, swirling the spoon round to create a whirlpool.

"There was this green light and a loud banging noise, but I was asleep, I didn't see anything."

"Ah, I thought you might have heard that. Most of the orphanage was awake after, the Grinch – I mean, Mrs Grinchley was patrolling for the rest of the night trying to settle things."

Dylan snorted into her bowl at Geoff's slip, he was resident cook and caretaker at St Mary's Orphanage and had been living there since he was five. The children considered him one of their own, so naturally he knew all the gossip and knick names passed around.

"It's on the news this morning, look." Geoff picked up the remote and clicked the channel on the kitchen TV over. A newsreader appeared, a smartly dressed woman shuffling papers, an image of the local park showing behind her.

_Last night on the outskirts of Cardiff, a disturbance unsettled the peace. Eye witnesses reported a strange light and loud noise that had the neighbourhood up all night. Could this be another case of extra terrestrial activity? James Newton reports._

"Wow, it made the news", Dylan stared at the TV monitor, a large crater was being shown in the middle of a wooded are. People were flocking around it and the area was fenced off, a large black car could be seen in the background.

"That's Tawnhill Park isn't it?"

"Yup, the place is swarming with reporters and policemen, I'd choose a different way to school today, chuck"

Geoff rose and drained his tea, "speaking of which you should be off."

"Yeah", Dylan replied absent-mindedly, still staring intently at the screen.

It had been something interesting last night, damn. Well she could make up for it on her way to school, after all it was on her route. Only a quick look the police wouldn't even know she was there.

Dylan stood up and stretched, no time to waste. She bounded up the stairs, accompanied by the protests of the Grinchley.

~*~

"Cardiff! Wonderful!"

The Doctor inhaled deeply, stretching, he took in the glittering expanse of Cardiff Bay.

"Why do I always seem to land here", The Doctor scratched his head. "Oh well, at least you can refuel", he said stroking the TARDIS affectionately.

The Doctor licked his finger and held it up, as if testing the wind.

"Hmm, this way I think", turning in a circle he strode of determinedly, his coat flapping in the morning breeze.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sun shone through the trees, making dappled patterns on the ground. Dylan breathed in the smell of flowers and earth, the air was alive with buzzing. There seemed to be every flying insect imaginable out today, Dylan had never seen so many. Then again it was early summer, still, she had to duck and dodge to avoid swarms of gnats, and every now and then a fly would get to close to her face.

Dylan hitched up her rucksack, and glanced at her watch, it was nearly school time but she'd make it. The path curved gently round and she settled into a saunter, it wasn't far to school now. But as she rounded the bend Dylan was faced by a wall of people.

Great, this must be it. The site where that thing landed last night. Dylan tried to see past the reporters in front of her, but there were too many of them and the path was taped off to each side. Damn, maybe she should have taken a different route after all. She was going to have to double back and run to get to school now, although…if she was already going to be late.

Dylan looked at the small wood to either side of the path, there was no tape or policemen there. Probably because they thought no one would be stupid enough to go that way. Brambles and nettles grew in thick mounds, crawling up the trunks of the nearby trees. Dylan hesitated, she could go and see it, the thing that had made that light. She took one last look at the thronging reporters, making sure the policemen were well and truly occupied, before gingerly stepping off the path into the undergrowth.

_Aliens or not, _she thought, _this was going to hurt. _

~*~

The Doctor swore loudly in an alien language, as he wrestled with a particularly nasty bramble bush. How did he always manage to get into these situations, this would never had happened if Donna had been with him. She would have made sure they took the easy route. He hadn't wanted to use the psychic paper in case he was recognised, too many eyes and Torchwood would have known it was him. It still hurt, the memory of that day.

_No! _He thought; _don't think about it, you're better on your own._

He finally managed to free himself and strode on through the trees. The wood was alive with bugs; beetles and ants covered the ground. The Doctor had to watch where he walked in case he took out half an ant family with his dappers.

Gradually, the trees started to thin, and the amount of brambles decreased much to The Doctor's relief. Although, the insect levels appeared to be rising, the floor seemed to be moving with him now. Great rivers of them, all heading the same way, and The Doctor had a funny feeling he knew where.

A clearing appeared, bent and broken trees encircled it, indicating the large object that had smashed its way through them. The undergrowth was blackened and flat, but the main feature of the destruction was the huge crater in its centre. There was no one in sight, the blockade was further away keeping the area clear of prying eyes. Probably so Torchwood could work in peace, The Doctor rolled his eyes, so much technology and argy-bargy why couldn't they just do things simply, he thought as he edged into the clearing.

The crater was still fresh and smoke was rising from the middle, the river of insects was streaming into it just as he had suspected.

"I wasn't that far behind you then", The Doctor said to no one in particular. He swatted away a stray bumblebee as he looked into the crater.

A large metallic lump was resting in the dirt, one side was cracked and an ominous green mist was leaking out of it. The Doctor slide down into the pit, scattering mud and bugs everywhere.

"That's beautiful", he murmured as he placed a battered stethoscope against it, listening intently.

"No one home?"

The Doctor straightened up and sniffed.

"So where's the family?" he enquired, looking around expectantly. He turned and scrambled back up the side of the crater, hoping to find some clues in the crash site to the owner's whereabouts. He reached the top, and was just about to pull himself out when he was confronted by three waiting figures. The Doctor looked up slowly, and watched as one of the figures raised something above its head.

"Ah," The Doctor exclaimed, before he was knocked unconscious.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She couldn't believe her eyes. Aliens, real live aliens, they were right in front of her.

Dylan stood on the edge of what appeared to be the impact zone of a nuclear bomb. The trees here had been demolished and a large smoking crater occupied the middle of the clearing. Standing on the edge of it were three creatures, who were most definitely not from earth.

They resembled gigantic insects, they had large scythe like arms that protruded from their elongated, emerald green bodies. Their heads were dominated by bulbous eyes, similar to a fly's, and wire thin antennae that twitched and swayed above them. Dylan was excited, but she didn't think she was ready to 'make contact' as it were, as they also had vicious looking pincers that clacked together with terrifying force. She also doubted her chances of escape if things turned nasty, as all sported three sets of spindly legs and their backs were covered by a huge pair of wings as bright as stained glass. But no matter how scared of them she was she had to admit, they were beautiful.

All three seemed to be talking to each other, in an alien language, because all Dylan could here was a complex series of squeaks and clacks. They were gathered round what appeared to be a bundle of blue cloth. Dylan leant forward trying to get a better look at the object of the aliens' interest.

All of a sudden the bundle shifted, and then jumped up quicker than she could blink. It was a man, a human man, well he looked human. The man blinked several times, rubbing his head.

"Ow, hell of a right hook you've got there", the man said to one of the creatures. He was gangly, and had scruffy hair, Dylan doubted whether he could take on all three of those monsters so what in God's name was he doing?

"I'll tell you what though, that would be the last thing that would help you if I don't like what your doing here."

He stood up straight, a dark look on his face. This man was bonkers, he was out-numbered three to one by gigantic, monster bugs from outer space and he was _threatening _them! Dylan stared dumbly as the aliens turned to one another and started chattering in their staccato language. The man just stood there calmly, watching them probably deciding his fate and he wasn't even batting an eyelid. Then…

"Ah, well, see, 'cause if you are really planning that then I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you."

He could understand them?! Either that or he was talking to himself which was equally worrying. Dylan shifted a bit closer, eager to see what the trio would do. They turned slowly back to the man as he pulled a small tube-like device from his jacket. He flicked a switch and it started to emit a high, piercing whirr, a blue light shining from one end. The aliens hissed loudly and flinched back from the man.

"Oooo, you don't like that do you", he said mockingly as the aliens writhed, agonised in front of him. Suddenly, one of the monster bugs rose to a terrifying height, obviously fighting the pain it was feeling. It took a shaky step towards the man, hissing menacingly.

"Oo", the man said in a completely different tone, as the creature bore down on him and lifted him off his feet. The tubey thing fell to the ground, and the noise stopped.

Instantly, he was being set upon by two angry aliens as the third held him aloft, kicking. _Idiot_, Dylan thought, now what? She couldn't just leave him. Quickly she thought of a plan, they obviously didn't like that gadget the man had been carrying so it had to be a weapon against them.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this", she muttered as she stood up and leapt over the bramble bush that had been concealing her.

"Oi", she shouted, "Stop that I'm warning you".

Dylan dashed out of her cover to be confronted by four very shocked faces. The scene would have been comical if she hadn't been so frightened. The image she had last seen had frozen, all four figures in the clearing had stopped to look at her. The man had a bemused and stunned expression on his face, and the aliens…well she couldn't really tell, but by they way they were staring fixedly at her she could probably guess they hadn't expected this.

Dylan slowed to a walk and glared at the huge insects. Quickly she bent down and picked up the strange gadget where it had fallen, holding it with both hands she pointed it at the alien holding the crazy man.

"I'm warning you, put him down", she was losing some of the confidence she had had when she entered this bizarre charade, but she still managed to add a hint of threat into her voice.

"Brilliant", the man breathed, a huge grin spreading across his face. "Ab-so-lute-ly, brilliant."

Dylan looked at him briefly, then flicked her gaze back to the alien she was threatening, but she could have sworn that in that small moment he had winked at her. What was wrong with this guy? Here she was risking her life for him, and he was making cheerful comments and winking at her. Still she couldn't help but smile slightly, and the man's grin broadened.

"Put him down I said, or I'll zap you", Dylan's voice sounded unsure at this, as she realised she didn't really know how to work this thing.

The Aliens obviously realised this as well because they finally started moving and began chattering quickly to each other, occasionally glancing at Dylan. The man realised she was in danger at the same time, because he started to move instead of just grinning stupidly at her, he began to reach carefully into one of his trouser pockets. Dylan hoped he would hurry up with whatever plan he had because the chattering was become more and more hostile and the bugs were taking a lot more interest in her.

The man found what he was looking for and uttered a triumphant, "Ha!" As he flung a handful of something into his captive's eye. The creature shrieked and dropped him unceremoniously on the ground. Jumping up he threw two more handfuls of whatever it was into the other's faces and ran towards her. He bounded up to her side with a manic grin on his face, the aliens were quite clearly blinded as they bumped into each other forming a tangled mess on the floor.

"What did you do? What was that?" Dylan asked confused.

"That was pepper, a natural insecticide don't you know." The man replied smugly.

"No I didn't".

The Bugs were starting to get their bearings again, and were un-tangling themselves.

"Oops, can't stand around here chatting we've got to go!"

The man grabbed Dylan's hand and dragged her after him, she was finding it hard to keep up with his striding run.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Me...I'm The Doctor!" he answered grandly, turning his head slightly to look back at her. "And you?"

"Dylan…Dylan Harris", she huffed, running quickly out of breath.

"Isn't Dylan a boy's name".

"Hey, I just saved your life and now your giving me insults, great!"

"Sorry, no I like it, it's different", he said, smiling at her.

Dylan frowned, "Thanks...I think"

"Anyway, nice to meet you Dylan Harris, Allonsy!!"

"Allon-what?"

But before she could get an answer, The Doctor sped up taking the remaining air out of her body.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey, here's the next chapter, I made up the word resa-morphic so no complaints there. This is the chapter where Dylan and The Doctor have a nice moment and it's one of my favourites. Please review, thanks.**

Chapter 5

"So what exactly are we looking for?"

"A resa-morphic, substance left behind after an alien species converts primitive life-forms into mutated killing machines, in this case bugs. And this would tell me whether they're building up an army or not."

The Doctor was knelt on the ground, shining the tube-like device around under bushes. Dylan was stood back a way, looking down on him and wondering how the hell she got herself into this situation, and what would happen when they realised she hadn't gone to school today. She would rather face ten _thousand_ monster bugs than the Grinchley.

"What were those things?" Dylan asked quietly.

The Doctor stopped looking for resa-morphic substances and turned to face her. Dylan was looking up at the sky, a small frown creasing her forehead, which was still covered in scratches from the various branches and brambles that had whipped her quite violently on their mad dash through the trees.

The Doctor sighed and leant back supporting his weight on his hands, his feet stretched out in front of him. It was always the same with new ones, all the usual questions followed by all the usual answer. _Still, _he thought, _the girl had practically saved his life and she seemed able to handle it. _

"They were aliens", he said in what he thought was a calm and serious voice, but instead Dylan burst out laughing. The Doctor frowned, this had never happened before, was she mad? Oh please don't let her be mad!

"I know that stupid, anyone could have guessed that. No, I meant what kind of aliens are they?"

The Doctor paused for a minute, in all his 904 years of travelling he had never been laughed at when he told someone for the first time about aliens. Then again this was a new Earth, one that had been visited by so many races lately, and had then been stolen, so ignorance must be a rare thing now. The Doctor stood up, brushing the earth from his clothes.

"They're called Sectivores, a particularly nasty type of alien. They come from the planet Vard, in the Delta 5 galaxy. They're sort of an amalgamation of all your arthropod species, you know, spiders, flies, beetles, prayer mantis…"

"Prayer mantis!" That's what I thought they looked like." Dylan interrupted, taking The Doctor aback.

"So are these giant bugs trying to take over Earth and turn us into slaves or something?"

"That's very clever, your good Dylan Harris, but no. They want to take over the planet, sure, but you're not going to be slaves." The Doctor stopped wondering if she was ready for this.

"Not slaves, then what are we?" A hint of panic had crept into her voice now.

"Lunch."

Dylan stared at him, her face growing pale. Oh no, she hadn't been ready, but suddenly the blood rushed back to her face and a determined scowl replace the look of horror that had been fixed on her face moments ago.

"Right, well, we better see if these guys are creating a mutant army of bugs." Dylan dropped down on her knees where The Doctor had been, and started looking underneath the bushes.

"Errrr…what exactly does resa-morphic goo, or whatever, look like."

The Doctor smiled and handed her his device.

"Here this will help." He said, "Set it to three and it will scan the area for traces of it." He then sat down cross-legged beside her as she turned on the gadget, whirring suddenly filled the woods.

"What is this thing?" Dylan asked from underneath a bush.

"It's called a Sonic-Screwdriver, never leave your solar system without one."

"A Sonic…Screwdriver, alright I'll buy that. But I don't get how you were able to understand those aliens, and how you know so much about them."

"Ah", The Doctor looked thoughtfully at Dylan and didn't say anything else for so long that she stopped what she was doing and straightened up to face him.

"Doctor?"

"Ah", he said again, "You see I know all that stuff because…well…I'm an alien too. Well, not just an alien, a Time-Lord…well…the last of the Time-Lords." The Doctor stared at Dylan expectantly; she just looked at him for a few seconds, then grinned and said, "Cool."

The Doctor grinned back.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

~*~

This is a problem.

We didn't plan on a Time-Lord showing up, this would delay things.

And that human, she must have been his companion, the records from the home world said he always travels with one.

Huh, imagine travelling with one of those apes, I wouldn't be able to stand it, the smell.

At least they taste good.

Yes, very good.

So when do me attack Commander?

Soon, we just have to get rid of this Time-Lord first.

The Time-Lords were a dangerous race Commander, they have no weakness.

This one does, to stop the Time-Lord, we attack the human.

~*~

"TARDIS, T-A-R-D-I-S, Time and relative dimensions in space."

"Okay"

The Doctor had agreed to walk Dylan home, it was getting dark and they couldn't do any more until morning. The Doctor still wasn't sure what to make of this strange girl, she seemed to be taking everything very easily. In fact she seemed to be enjoying it, she'd been asking more and more questions as they walked, and not just the obvious ones. Things like; _What was weirdest planet you've been on? _And, _Have you ever seen a black hole?_

There was something about her, The Doctor couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was strange, she was strange, and he liked her.

"So, have you ever gone back and visited the dinosaurs, you know it being a time machine and everything?"

"No, but they invaded London once."

"Really?"

"Yeah, a long time ago. That was when I was trapped on Earth."

"You were trapped here?"

"My home world banished me." The Doctor stared at the ground as he walked, so many memories, so many friends he'd lost.

"And now it's gone?" Dylan glanced at The Doctor, concern on her face. She liked this weird alien, he was funny and interesting, but he also seemed sad. Dylan didn't like that.

"Yup." The Doctor's head was bent right down, his chin touching his chest. "Now I'm all alone."

"Don't you have any friends, I mean on other planets that you visit?"

"I used to travel with some people, human people, but they're all gone as well now. They all have someone, it's just me."

Dylan looked down and said, so quietly that The Doctor thought he had misheard it, "like me then." The Doctor glanced side-ways at Dylan, but she was looking away from him. They carried on in silence, Dylan occasionally speaking to give directions.

Finally, they rounded a corner and were met by an old, Victorian style building. The evening light cast its long shadow over the driveway, and the tall battlements poked at the sky viciously. Dylan really didn't like this place, it reminded her of those Charles Dickens novels; Oliver Twist, Great Expectations. She shivered looking up at the dark windows, The Doctor however was staring at the large white sign by its entrance.

It read in bold, black letters, '**St Mary's Orphanage**'. Dylan sighed and looked at The Doctor expectantly.

"Orphanage." He read out, "You're an orphan?" He turned to her, his eyes wide.

"Yup, my parents died when I was 4, and I was brought here."

"No other family, no Aunts or Uncles, Grandparents, distant cousins twice removed?"

Dylan chuckled sadly, then she looked The Doctor in the eyes and said quietly, "Nope, it's just me."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dylan shut the door of her room quickly, the sound of the Grinchley shouting at her still ringing in her ears. She had not been impressed when Dylan had returned, having had a phone call from the school saying she had never arrived. What was worse was that Dylan realised she had left her rucksack in the woods, so there would be little point in showing up tomorrow without any books. But she didn't care about school anymore, she had never really enjoyed it, no one talked to her, maybe because she didn't talk to anyone first. Nope, she knew what she was doing tomorrow, and it wouldn't involve maths.

The Doctor had told her he would see her again. "After all," he had said, "the Sectivores have seen you with me, and they might come after you. I'll have to watch out for you for a while, but stay out of trouble just in case, and don't go out on your own." She had agreed to stay at the orphanage, as long as he would tell her if anything else happened, and now she was back in her room, where it had all started.

Dylan went over to her window seat and picked up her diary. _Thank God I didn't put this in my rucksack, _she thought, she didn't konw where she would be without it. Especially as she had so much to add to it now, she had seen aliens! Wait until Geoff heard about this. She began scribbling the day's events in the well-loved journal, the memories of the Grinchley's wrath fading from her mind.

A small knock came at the door, Dylan didn't look up from her work as she said, "Come in."

"Well, well, you have returned. The rumours are that you bunked off school today madam." Geoff walked quietly in, shutting the door behind him. "School too much for you now, or were you distracted by something on the way? Hmm, now let me think, what could that have been?" He said sarcastically, rubbing his chin, his expression overly thoughtful.

"Very funny. Yeah, I went and had a look but I was _intending _to go to school and isn't that just as good?" Dylan looked at Geoff innocently, but she couldn't stop a huge grin spreading across her face.

Geoff blanched, "What did you see?" He asked eagerly, sitting down next to her. His face was flushed and excited, Dylan could almost see the boy that he had been so many years ago.

"Aliens Geoff, I saw aliens!"

"Oh Dyl!" Geoff hugged her tight, "after all that star gazing you got your wish, what did they look like?"

"Which ones?"

"You saw more than one?" Geoff laughed loudly. "Well, you know what they say; you wait for a bus for hours and then three come along at once."

"No, there were only types of alien there." Dylan looked at Geoff, suddenly sombre. "And one type is not here for sight-seeing."

"Oh, don't worry UNIT will sort them out." Dylan shook her head, giggling.

"Are they ever going to find out you hacked into their database?"

"Not if I have my way." Geoff grinned.

"Anyway, it won't be UNIT, 'cause the other alien, he's going to stop them, and I'm going to help." Dylan leant back, her arms folded, a smile on her face. But Geoff looked sternly at her.

"You be careful Dylan Harris, I know your knack of running into trouble. When you were left here 13 years ago, I didn't promise to help raise you so you would go off and get zapped by aliens."

"Don't worry Geoff, The Doctor will look after me." She placed a reassuring hand on his arm, and looked into his eyes.

"I'll be fine."

Geoff sighed and ruffled her hair affectionately, "you've always been able to win me over Dyl. Just remember what I said, and tell this Doctor he'll have to answer to me if anything happens to you."

Dylan chuckled, "Alright Geoff, I will. Love you."

Geoff got up and walked to the door, turning he looked back at Dylan, "Love you too Dyl."

Dylan had been wrong before, she wasn't alone, not while she had Geoff.

~*~

Dylan was having trouble sleeping, all the day's excitement was making her restless. Why wouldn't tomorrow hurry up and come, she turned on her side and reached for her clock.

**00:47**

Dylan sighed, and closed her eyes, but she couldn't drift off no matter how hard she tried. She listened to noises of the old Victorian house, the creaks and groans of the floorboards, the hiss and gurgle of the central heating. Her mind started to wander, and the fogginess that comes before sleep started to blur her vision.

Suddenly, she heard a different sound, the sound of a door rattling in its frame. Dylan sat up in bed, wide awake now. What was that? The rattling grew louder, more impatient, something was definitely trying to get in. The sound stopped abruptly, there was a pause, only short, but it felt like it lasted forever.

After what seemed like years, Dylan heard the slow creak as the front door swung open.

She was frozen solid, she couldn't move. _Coward_, she shouted at her herself, _after all you've done today. _But no matter how hard she tried, her limbs stayed pinned to the bed. There was a bang from downstairs, and then she heard a shout. Footsteps approached, Dylan ducked down under the covers, trembling. Her door slammed open, someone was in her room. Her heart was pounding, she was surprised whoever it was couldn't here it. Her floorboards creaked as they came towards her bed. She sucked in her breath, and her heart almost stopped. Dylan felt hands grab her from under the duvet, she screamed.

"Shhhh, it's me." Geoff's face appeared over the covers, he was smiling but his eyes were wide with fear.

"What the hell?!" Dylan shouted, slapping him hard, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, but it appears the trouble has come to you this time, chuck." Geoff dragged her out of bed, and stood her up in front of him. He was breathing fast, and his grip on her was starting to hurt.

"Pack a bag, or something. Mrs Grinchley is getting everyone out of here, go out the back door and get in the mini-bus." Geoff turned to go.

"What about you?"

"I'm going to fend them off." He smiled bravely at her.

"Wait…them? Geoff, no!" but he had already run out of her room.

Dylan turned back to her room and panicked. _What had come to the house?_ She asked herself, but she had a terrible feeling she knew what. The house was already filled with the sound of people running, and children crying, downstairs the cacophony of bangs and crashes continued, and over it all the Grinchley shouting orders. Dylan gave a small, tight smile, somethings never changed.

She forgot about a bag, the only thing she grabbed was her journal. She tugged on a jumper and a pair of jeans over her nightie, and rammed her feet into a pair of dappers on the floor. Clutching the diary to her chest she dashed out of her room and into the busy corridor. There were children everywhere, running up and down. Dylan stood amoungst the chaos, her face white. Suddenly, the Grinchley marched up to her yelling, "What the blazes are you doing standing in the corridor for girl? Get to the bus!" She stormed off muttering, "Bloody monsters, storming into my orphanage at some un-godly hour."

Monsters? Oh, hell! Dylan looked at the retreating Grinchley being followed, like the pied-piper, by a stream of children. And then she looked at the stair case leading to the front door. Geoff was down there. The corridor was empty now, and there was something different about the house. It was silent, there was no noise, not even from downstairs. Dylan's heart was pounding again, what had happened? Either the monsters had gone, or…

Dylan didn't want to think about it. But she wasn't going to leave Geoff on his own down there. Slowly she crept along the corridor and down the stairs. She peeped over the banister, the hallway was empty. The door stood swaying on one hinge, its edges splintered. The Grinchley had been right, monsters. Dylan tip-toed down the last stairs, and stared around the eerily quiet room. There was no sound now, a flickering light caught her eye, it was coming from the kitchen. Gingerly she walked over to the door, and looked in. The fridge had been hit in the panic by someone or something, the door was open and the side was badly damaged. The interior light was trying feebly to hang onto life. Dylan shut the door warily, plunging the kitchen into darkness, and revealed a figure standing stiffly behind it.

At first Dylan turned to run, then she looked closer, and her heart froze. Geoff was stood, a look of horror fixed in his eyes which were glassy and wide open. His face was paler and it shone in the now dark kitchen. He was covered in a sticky, viscous substance that had a green glow about it. It was attached to the ceiling, and Geoff was suspended from it, like a macabre puppet.

Dylan opened her mouth in a silent scream. _Geoff, oh please not Geoff_, she thought desperately. There was a tiny noise behind her, a slight shift of the feet. It was coming from the door. Dylan set her mouth in a hard line; they had killed him, now she was going to do her damndest to kill them. Her hands where bunched into fists, and she could feel a shout bubbling up her throat. The creature got closer, and Dylan prepared her herself.

Quickly, she whirled around and shouted, "You..!" Before her mouth was clamped shut by a hand.

"Shhhh."

The Doctor's face shone in the darkness, inches from her own.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry about the wait, i had some trouble with this chapter. God they're getting longer! Not too sure about this chapter, please give your opnions, only 3 more to go! Awoo!**

Chapter 7

Dylan felt empty inside.

She was sitting on a bench chair inside the TARDIS, her head resting in her cupped hands. Tears dripped down her face, but she didn't wipe them away, she barely noticed them.

The Doctor was leant against the TARDIS console, opposite Dylan. His arms folded across his chest, and a sombre expression on his boyish face. He didn't know what to say, she had obviously just lost someone very important to her and it was all his fault. _This is why I travel alone,_ he thought, _I destroy the lives of everyone I meet. _Timidly, he moved towards her, when she didn't react he sat down beside her.

"Are you ok?" He said softly, tilting his head so he could see hers. Dylan sniffed, and wiped her eyes.

"No not really. I've just lost the closest person I had to family, would you be ok?"

The Doctor turned his head away, looking sheepish.

"No, I suppose I wouldn't."

"I just wish..." Dylan sighed and looked at The Doctor, "I just wish I could've helped. I mean, I just let him run down there on his own, I'm such a coward." She slumped forward, covering her face with her hands so The Doctor wouldn't see her crying.

"No." The Doctor retorted, his face was serious, "No, Dylan Harris you are _not _a coward." He turned towards her again, pulling her up to face him. She looked back at him with wet eyes, shaking her head slightly.

"You've done so much that other people would never dare to do. You avoided a police blockade, you fought your way through a bramble forest. Which, by the way, was even worse than the forest on the seventh moon of Fargle. You then faced down three human devouring aliens to save me. So no Dylan Harris, you are most definitely not a coward."

"Why didn't I save _him_ then?" Dylan's face was fierce now, "If I'm so brave I why couldn't I save Geoff? Why couldn't I save my parents?" She leapt up, her fists clenched, and her eyes blazing. The Doctor watched from the seat, a sympathetic expression on his face.

"Some things people can't prevent, it's just the way the universe works, Dyl."

Dylan blanched, "Geoff used to call me Dyl." Her face had dropped and her hands were relaxed by her side now. The Doctor smiled and got up, he was a whole head taller than her, he pulled her into a hug, her head just managed to rest on his shoulder.

"Dyl, it sounds nice. I might have to start calling you that."

Dylan pulled away from The Doctor and looked up at his face, it was sombre.

"I see death alot, sometimes it's the people I love. I had this friend, Donna her name was, she travelled with me for a while, and then...Well, let's just say I can never see her again. It's a dangerous life in the TARDIS."

The TARDIS! Dylan looked around the gigantic room she was in for the first time. The walls and the centre console seemed to radiate green light, and there were great columns situated around the round room, twisted and pitted like huge sculptures made out of coral. Wires and leads trailed above her head, criss-crossing, forming giant webs that all led to the centre-piece. A glass tube, encasing various mechanics that slid up and down creating a grinding noise that filled the chamber. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Dylan moved towards the console, it was covered in various buttons and levers, and few things that look suspiciously familiar. A rubber mallet lay on the console where Dylan was resting her hands. She picked it up and turned to The Doctor her eyebrows raised in amusement. The Doctor grinned and took it from her placing it back on its hook.

"Yes, well even the TARDIS needs a little persuading sometimes."

"Were you close to her, Donna I mean?" The Doctor's face was filled with grief, Dylan realised he probably understood what she was feeling. He looked at her and smiled a tight smile.

"Yeah, she was my best mate. She loved this life, being able to travel anywhere, any time."

"Any time" Dylan's voice was filled with awe. "Any time…ANY TIME!" She was suddenly very animated. She dashed round the other side of the console, her expression determined. The Doctor frowned at her.

"Yeah…any time." He said non-plussed.

"Don't you see? We could go back and save him, save Geoff!" Dylan was now beaming, she was positively dancing around the control panel. The Doctor sighed and ran a hand through his messy brown hair, letting it rest on the back of his neck, his face was solemn again.

"We can't Dyl."

Dylan stopped, her face dropping, "What do you mean? Of course we can, this is a time-machine isn't it?"

The Doctor shook his head, a sad smile crossing his face, "We can't, Geoff's death is a fixed point in time now. We can't change that; otherwise they'll be a whole lot of trouble on our hands, not including the psychotic, super bugs."

Dylan glared at him, "How do you know that?"

"I'm a Time-Lord, I'm meant to know it. It's my job to make sure those type of things don't happen."

"But how do you know if bad things will happen, have you ever rescued a dead person before?" Dylan was staring expectantly at The Doctor, her arms crossed in front of her. The Doctor smiled.

"Yes, I did once, or my friend did. She saved her dad, and the whole of that time was frozen and nearly devoured by Reapers. We were lucky to escape, once the change is made, you're trapped." Dylan wrinkled her nose, and a defeated look appeared on her face.

"Fine. We won't save him, I'll just have to live with my guilt. But let's at least stop standing around here, when these bugs could already have mutated half of Cardiff's invertebrates by now."

Dylan slowly un-crossed her arms, a small smile flitting across her face, but her eyes were still sad and filled with grief. The Doctor smiled back encouragingly, she had accepted the rules and was now demanding they saved the world. He shook his head as he turned to the controls, Dylan's gaze following him. _Not a coward indeed, _The Doctor thought as he steered the TARDIS towards their destination.

~*~

The TARDIS landed outside a row of run-down warehouses, somewhere in Cardiff docks. The door creaked open, and The Doctor peeped out, his face wary.

"Here we are."

"And where exactly is here?" Dylan followed, with a sceptical look. She gazed around the dark street; it was flanked on either side by bleak warehouses. Their windows empty and black, staring at her like dark eyes. The concrete beneath her feet was cracked and weeds were bursting out of the gaps. A beetle scuttled past her feet.

"Lovely," She exclaimed. "Why exactly are we _here_?" Dylan asked testily, looking up at The Doctor, who was now waving the Sonic Screwdriver around in front of him, a small frown creasing his forehead.

"After I left you, I found some resa-morphic 'goo' near my TARDIS. Obviously the Sectivores are on to me and were planning an ambushing with their pets, but I was too clever and managed to confuse them with this." He held up the Screwdriver, a triumphant smile on his face, when Dylan didn't smile back he continued. "I collected some of it and scanned it into the TARDIS' matrix, it told me where the big bad mutant bugs were, and that's how I found out that you were in trouble."

"What attacked the orphanage, did you see it?" Dylan's voice was barely more than a whisper, The Doctor paused before saying, "It was a rather large spider."

She shivered and then nodded slowly.

"So you've followed another signal here?" Dylan looked around her, "funny place for bugs to go, don't they hate water?"

The Doctor looked confused for a second, then he grinned at Dylan, "You're right, well done!"

"Thanks." She replied simply, looking down at the dirty floor. The Doctor sighed, it was going to take her awhile to come to terms with her loss, and The Doctor was angry at himself for not coming to her aid sooner. It was just the way things were though, he should know.

"So, what _are _giant bugs doing near the water?" The Doctor started to stride away, when he realised Dylan wasn't following he turned and gave her a small smile.

"For Geoff?" He asked her quietly. Dylan looked up at him, her expression becoming determined, a smile spread across her face.

"For Geoff." She replied, The Doctor's grin broadened, and they began their search for the Sectivores hide-out.

~*~

The sentient watched the two figures walk away down the street, its eight eyes contracting as the taller, male figure shone a blue light close by. It ducked down lower, which was hard for its size.

It recognised the smaller of the two, the female. She had escaped him at the house where he killed that human male. Stupid ape! He actually believed he could defeat him. The sentient shifted slightly, that tall man, he was not of earth origin, his masters had informed him of the threat he posed. He had snatched the female from him before he could complete his mission.

No matter, he would not fail again. And what could those two, small insignificant specimens do against the mighty army his masters were creating.

The time was drawing near, the harvest was beginning.

Without a sound, the sentient rose from his hiding place and followed the pair down the street, his eight legs carrying him along effortlessly.

~*~

The Doctor grunted in frustration. The TARDIS had only taken them so far before the signal had become too faint; he'd had no choice but to revert to the Sonic Screwdriver. But now, even that was failing him, it whirred industriously, but the signal kept faltering and they were going round in circles.

"Damn it!" The Doctor cursed loudly, smacking the sonic against his palm.

"We've been past that barrel twice already," Dylan called from close behind him, "Are all your adventures like this, wandering around abandoned warehouses, getting hopelessly lost?"

The Doctor shot a hurt look behind him, "No," he insisted, holding the Sonic up to his ear now.

"It's just sometimes technology fails me."

Dylan sighed, but smiled to herself. She couldn't wait until they found the Sectivores and their monstrous army, she wanted to avenge Geoff. She didn't tell The Doctor this though as he would probably say it was foolhardy or stupid, and stop her. She dropped back a bit, glancing down an alley they hadn't entered yet.

"What about down here?" she called. The Doctor just continued to mutter to his Screwdriver. She shrugged, but just as she was about to follow him she saw a shadow move in the alley.

Dylan froze, it had been a rather large shadow. There it was again, God it was big! The shadow was moving very fast now, towards her! It began to become solid, a shape in the darkness. It had eight legs, and a terrifying black hairy body topped by eight bulbous eyes the size of billiard balls. It also sported a set of large dripping fangs, Dylan turned to where The Doctor's figure was retreating down the street. She wanted to run but she couldn't, a scream built up in her throat.

But before she could call for help, she felt a sharp pain in her back, and was completely frozen to the spot.

The sentient dragged away his prize.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Doctor let out a triumphant, "Ha!"

The Sonic Screwdriver bleeped loudly in his out-stretched hand. The signal was strong here, and The Doctor could follow it to the source now.

"See, I told you I would find…" The Doctor turned to face Dylan, but all he saw was an empty street. The Doctor frowned, _Rule number 1: Don't wander off, why was that so hard to remember? _

He ran down the dark street, his coat flapping behind him. He skidded to a halt at the entrance to an alley, as the Sonic started to flash frantically.

"Ooo, something happened here," he exclaimed, bending down to examine a gooey, green blob on the floor. The Doctor quickly scanned the substance, a focused expression on his face.

"Hellooo, looks like you got away with my friend after all." The Doctor straightened up, sniffing, he tossed his Sonic screwdriver in the air, catching it lightly again.

"But unfortunately for you, I know how to find you now."

So saying The Doctor flicked the Sonic to setting five and set off towards the source.

~*~

He had been sprinting tirelessly for half an hour now, The Doctor had got used to the rhythm his feet made and the insistent bleeping of the Screwdriver. He forgot how slow he ran when he had a human with him, his two hearts pumped ecstatically, able to stretch to their limits. The signal was getting stronger, he was right on top of the source now, he must be!

The Doctor slowed to a walk and huffed loudly. He was on the very edge of the abandoned docks, the bay water was lapping against the side of the pavement. Large, half submerged boathouses loomed out of the darkness. These were the buildings the heavy cargo ships had stayed in now, they were empty and silent. Redundant after the new, shiny bay had been built, no one wanted ugly, industrial tugs coming into Cardiff now, not by the front door anyway.

The Doctor looked around, they were here somewhere and they had Dylan. But what were these alien bugs and their giant pets doing so close to the sea? The Doctor didn't like this; he began swinging the Sonic Screwdriver around erratically.

"Where are you?" The Doctor hissed, frustrated.

Suddenly, two shadows covered his vision. The Doctor paused for a nano-second, then he whirled round and smiled brightly to the two giant stag beetles behind him. They clacked their ugly pincers together while The Doctor stuck his hands up in a surrender position.

Tucking the Sonic Screwdriver safely away in his jacket, he resumed his submissive stance and said cheerily, "Take me to your leaders!"

~*~

Dylan's head hurt.

It was a throbbing pain that flared when she tried to open her eyes, why had she been so stupid? Just standing there like a melon. No wonder she got into trouble so much. She forced her eyelids open, and stared around groggily.

She was in a large, concrete building, there was no floor to it just a vast expanse of water. She must be in a boathouse, an abandoned one definitely. There were no boats for a start, plus there was barrel upon barrel of what looked like diesel. Some of the barrels were over turned spilling their contents into the water. She was on a raised platform, one of the ones they used to clean the side of large boats. It was suspended quite away up, and when Dylan got a glimpse of the area below her she felt ill.

She tried to move away from the edge a bit more, but she found she couldn't. Her arms and legs were stuck together with the same disgusting substance that had been holding up Geoff. Dylan gagged; it stank of rotting vegetation and earth. This was not a good situation to be in.

Dylan was struggling with her restraints, when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head round, at least that wasn't disabled. She watched as a line of humongous bugs of differing variety marched into the boat house. They came through a large doorway and assembled on another longer platform that must have been used for cargo. There were quite a few of them; Dylan recognised three beetles, two enormous worms and a rather large and hairy spider. Her captor she guessed. The others were either really obscure insects, or had been mutated beyond recognition because they looked horrifying.

Then a loud whirring echoed through the building, Dylan looked up to see three familiar figures hovering above her. The Sectivores descended, knocking her platform and setting it swinging madly from side to side. Dylan shook her head and focused on the monstrous band below her now, glaring hard.

"We completed a circuit of the area masters, nothing unusual."

Dylan stared, disbelieving. She had been sure, and she hoped to God she wasn't going mad, that the sound had come from one of the worms, and she had understood. One of the Sectivores, the biggest, landed gracefully in front of his troops.

"Where is patrol party 7?" His voice was a low whine and Dylan had to strain to hear him. It sounded like a hive of bees was near by, a very large hive of bees.

"We don't know masters, they had the longest route though maybe they got side-tracked." The worm's voice was slow and deep, like he was buried under-ground.

"This Time-Lord is on to us, and it would be a very bad thing if he found out where we are. The harvest would be delayed and the eggs would not be able to survive. It is crucial he is kept away until we're stronger." The lead Sectivore rose up on his hind legs, his arms scraping together menacingly.

"If you're ssso keen to keep the male away, why have we caught hisss mate." Dylan scowled, mate in deed, she barely knew him. But then she realised who had spoken. The large spider twitched as he waited for a response, Dylan shivered, his voice was like honey, thick and warm. He dragged each 's' out, making a sinister hissing noise as he spoke. Dylan _really_ didn't like him.

"Good point sentient 4, she is here for insurance. The Time-Lord won't harm us if we have his pet." The Sectivores laughed, their voices shrill in the cold boat house. Dylan felt a grim despair descending on her, where was The Doctor? He had left her, just when she was getting to like him. _Abandoned again, _she thought.

Suddenly, a commotion from the doorway grabbed everyone's attention.

Two large, black stag beetles marched in, dragging a skinny figure between them. The Doctor! The Dylan sighed with relief, it wasn't over yet then.

The beetles threw The Doctor forward so he was in front of the line-up of bizarre insects. He grinned at the two Sectivores hovering above him, and waved to the leader as he walked towards him.

"Hi there," he said cheerily, "I believe you have a friend of mine." The Sectivore leader came to a stop inches from The Doctor and leant down towards his face. The Doctor leant back with him, maintaining the distance between them. The Sectivores antennae twitched over his face and then abruptly withdrew.

"You managed to find us then Doctor?"

"Ooo, mind reading probes, cleverly disguised as antennae. I like it." The Doctor smiled approvingly. "What I don't like though is what you're planning." The smile disappeared to be replaced by a dark stare.

"Somehow, I don't think the humans will be very happy if you devour them and populate their homes with your young." The Doctor gestured with his hand towards the water.

Only then did Dylan notice that there were thousand of half submerged spheres. They looked about the size of footballs, and they were bobbing about in the filthy water. Eggs, the Sectivores had mentioned eggs. Dylan didn't like the sound of that.

As The Doctor continued to distract the Sectivores and their army, Dylan wriggled violently against her sticky bonds. After a lot of vigorous swaying and swearing Dylan broke loose and cautiously looked over the edge of her platform. Her stomach flipped; there was no way she would get down without causing a scene. Then she noticed the solid iron beams above her head, they lead to a ladder on the far wall. Well, there didn't seem to be any other way down. Dylan reached up to the beam and gripped it tightly, swinging her legs up she wrapped them round and then began the long task of shimmying along its length.

~*~

The Doctor didn't like this. He couldn't see Dylan anywhere, and there wasn't many places they could have hidden her in the virtually empty boathouse. He focused his attention back on the Sectivore commander. He had been chattering away, doing his villain's monologue. The Doctor rolled his eyes, they always gave away their plans instead of just getting rid of the good guy, not that he was complaining it was giving him time to form a plan. Non-violent, of course.

"…So you see Doctor, there is no way you can stop us."

"Yeah, yeah alright. But what I really want to know is why all the water? I didn't think your young needed water to hatch."

"The atmosphere on this planet is too harsh for our young, but the water offers the perfect protection against it, that's why the insects on this rock lay their eggs in water." The Doctor nodded.

"Ok, but I'm still going to get rid of you, your kids and your mutant army unless you leave this planet now." His voice took on a dark tone, his eyes glinting.

"One chance, that's all I'll give you."

The Sectivores looked at him for a second and then laughed loudly.

"Doctor, now I remember your name. You killed the queen of our cousin species, the Racnoss, her life still needs to be avenged."

"Oh yeah, I remember. She was up to much the same thing as you."

"Our planets were destroyed Doctor, you should know better than any the reason why." The Doctor's face grew solemn, "The Time War." He stated simply, his voice low.

"Yes, and now our species struggles to exist, feeding off more primitive life forms. Not any more, we will make a new Vard here, and build our empire again."

"Hmm, I don't think so." The Doctor frowned, he was taking a while to come up with a plan, but he thought he had one.

Suddenly, he saw a movement near the water's edge. Dylan was crouched down behind two barrels full of diesel, as he watched she gently tip the diesel into the water, making sure not to cause a splash. The Doctor stared, he didn't like where this was going, Dylan looked up at him meaningfully, and he watched in horror as she brought up her hand with a lighted match in it. Slowly she extended her arm over the water, and glared at the oblivious aliens.

The Doctor opened his mouth in an attempt to stop her, but before he could speak he had to throw himself to the ground, as Dylan let go of the match.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Dylan dropped the last few rungs, bending her knees. She quickly ducked behind some barrels on the edge of the platform. She could see The Doctor talking to the leader of the Sectivores, his face was a mask of concentration. He hadn't seen her yet.

Dylan looked around to find out where she actually was. She could see the platform she had been on before, and the long beam leading to the ladder behind her. They were a long way up, and it made Dylan dizzy just looking at them. A nauseous feeling crept into her stomach again, but she fought it down. She was crouching on a separate platform to The Doctor's one, they were cut off by a strip of water. The water had a slight rainbow sheen to it, _That must be the diesel_, Dylan thought. There was evidence of a walk-way where two iron brackets were screwed to the edge nearest the other platform, but the walk-way had long since vanished, cutting her of from the door. Dylan turned to look behind her; there was a small blue door that blended in so well with the dark wall, that Dylan hadn't seen it from where she had been suspended.

She slowly and quietly crept towards it, making sure to keep her head well down. Reaching the door she saw a rusty plaque nailed to the chipped wood. It read: **Mr.I.**, **Cargo Carriers Inc**. It must have been an office, maybe there would be something she could use in there. Dylan took a deep breath, and tentatively pushed the door open.

She quickly shuffled in and stood up behind the door, stretching. The room was virtually empty, apart from an old desk in the middle of the floor, and three filing cabinets with their contents gone or strewn on the dusty ground. Dylan made her way over to the desk and started searching through the draws. Whoever Mr.I. was he had left in a hurry. There was an assortment of stationary in the first draw, a half eaten packet of mints in the second and a small box of matches in the third. The box of matches had three left in it.

Suddenly, Dylan had an idea. She would get rid of those aliens and their spawn together. Quickly pocketing the matches she dashed out the door and back across the platform, keeping her head low. She reached the barrels and peeped over. The Doctor was still talking to the Sectivores, he didn't seem to have a plan. Well, at least she had one. Dylan carefully tipped the first barrel in front of her, spilling its contents into the water. Not one of the aliens noticed, good. After tipping the second barrel, Dylan saw The Doctor watching her warily. She looked at him hard, trying to convey her plan to him, but he just stared back dumbly. Dylan sighed and struck one of the matches from her pocket, it flared and caught. She slowly held it up so The Doctor could see; finally realisation dawned on his face. She extended her arm, and just as she let go Dylan could have sworn she saw a look of pure terror cross The Doctor's face before he flung himself to the floor.

She let go of the match.

~*~

The water caught alight with a thunderous _Woomph! _Dylan recoiled from the heat of the fire, as it glided across the water destroying anything in its path.

The Sectivores and their pets had noticed now and were screeching horribly. Some of the mutants were stumbling around blindly as their bodies burned. But most had been incinerated in the first heat wave. The Doctor was still lying on the floor, but he was looking about him with a bewildered expression so he was okay. Dylan sighed with relief before coughing back up the smoke she had inhaled.

Her plan had worked, but there had obviously been more diesel in the water than she had suspected. The fire was raging now and Dylan realised for the first time that she was trapped. _Idiot!_ She cursed herself and her stupidity. The water between her and The Doctor, and therefore the door, was a blaze. Dylan began coughing more and more as the smoke obscured her vision and stung her eyes. She sank to the floor trying to find clean air, but the blackness quickly consumed her.

~*~

The Doctor cursed.

The force of the first fire ball had destroyed most of the bugs around him, only a few were fleeing desperately for the still open door. The fire quickly devouring them. The two Sectivores that had been hovering above their heads had been burnt within seconds of the match being dropped, only their commander remained. He was circling above the inferno screaming a torrent of threats down on The Doctor.

"Curse you Time-Lord. My children are dead. See them burn, my brothers too, are gone. Curse you and your kind."

The Doctor pushed himself to his feet, covering his mouth with his sleeve. He looked around the boathouse, the smoke drifted in thick clouds making his visibility limited. He couldn't see Dylan, the platform she had been on was covered in angry flames.

Suddenly he heard a dreadful cry as the Sectivore commander dive bombed him. The Doctor ducked just in time, and the rabid insect wheeled to face him.

"You shall die Doctor!!" He screamed as he charged, his scythe-like arms extended, aiming for The Doctor. The Doctor stood his ground and drew his Sonic-Screwdriver, he pointed it at the enraged Sectivore speeding towards him and set on maximum. The deafening whirr drowned out the crackling of the hungry fire around him, and the screech of the Sectivore. The commander stopped and his cry of rage turned to agony, as he collapsed lifeless in front of The Doctor. The Secitvore's body twitch a few times before becoming still.

"I warned you, one chance." The Doctor said solemnly to the dead alien before him, his face lit red by the flames.

He tucked the Sonic-Screwdriver away and scanned the building again. The fire on the water was dying off; it had turned its attention to the bricks and mortar holding the boathouse together. The building gave an unsteady groan.

"Time to go I think." The Doctor exclaimed. He leapt into the water separating him from Dylan's former hiding place, a determined expression on his face. Reaching the other side he hauled himself out and jumped into a ring of fire. He couldn't see her, _oh, no not again, please, _he thought as the smoke blinded him.

Gradually the wall of smoke shifted and The Doctor saw the motionless form of a girl.

"Dyl!" He cried, rushing forward. He flipped her body over gently, and examined her face. She was just unconscious, The Doctor sighed and picked her up in his arms. He needed to get her to the fresh air. He deftly leapt back into the water, making sure to keep her head above the surface. His two hearts beating frantically from the excursion.

"I'm getting too old for this," he grunted, heaving Dylan's body out of the water. He dashed for the opening that was still, thankfully, fire free, and broke through into the cool night air.

He set Dylan down on the hard concrete and checked her pulse. He carefully opened her airways and put into the recovery position.

"That CPR class in the 80's did me good." He muttered to himself. Dylan began to cough violently, her eyes shooting open, she turned blearily to look at The Doctor.

"Hello." She said uncertainly.

"That was a bit stupid, and reckless, and unnecessary." The Doctor told her sternly

"Blimey, I save your life again, and almost die myself, and you're telling me off." Dylan sat up shakily.

"Hmmm, all the same I'm going to have to keep an eye on you Dylan Harris." The Doctor looked at her for a moment, as Dylan's eyes slid past him and fixed in horror at a point behind his shoulder.

The Doctor whirled round and saw a bedraggled, half burned spider blinking evilly back at him.

"Ah, hello," The Doctor said, eyeing the spider dubiously.

"Doctor," it said back pleasantly. "If you don't mind I'm going to leave thiss planet, now that my massterss are dead I can begin again. I can sstart my own sspeciess and not have to complete menial taskss for over-grown flyss."

The Doctor nodded, stunned, "o..k, how will you leave?"

"Oh, I found ssome sstolen technology from their crash ssite. I think I'll head to the starss and sstart my race there. What wass that name they ssaid before? Ah, yess, Racnosss. I kind of like that, I think I'll usse it. Anyway, farewell Time-Lord and human, I hope we never crosss pathss again." So saying the spider scuttled off into the darkness, leaving a dumb founded Doctor and Dylan.

"Wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey." The Doctor murmured. Dylan just stared at him, confused.

"Right, and now for you." He said turning to Dylan. She stood up with his help and glared at him.

"What do mean, and now for you?" She stood facing him, hands on hips. The Doctor looked at her seriously.

"I need to take you home Dylan, it's way past your bed time."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Dylan stared out of the window in her room. Her journal lay by her side, newly up-dated.

The funeral had been a small on, after all Geoff didn't have any family apart from the people here. She had hated seeing the coffin being carried down the aisle, it looked so small and claustrophobic. The service didn't fit Geoff at all, it was so solemn and dark, and he had been happy and light. She missed him.

The Doctor had dropped her off at the orphanage after that mad night. He had said his goodbyes and explained it was easier when he was on his own. Well fine, she didn't need him, and yet Dylan still couldn't shake this empty feeling she had inside. She was back into the routine, only it was even worse now Geoff had gone and The Doctor had abandoned her.

She rested her head against the cool glass, and sighed, her breath misting its surface. The stars winked back at her, appearing so close and yet really burning millions of miles away. She stroked her journal, it was the only evidence she had for what had happened.

Police had said that Goeff had been murdered by house burglars, even though his body had been retained by special opps, whoever they were. The boathouse had been burnt down by 'vandals', Dylan had had to hide a small smile when that came on the news during supper.

It had been a week since it had happened, and she couldn't help wonder where The Doctor was now, which planet he was visiting or what time he was seeing. It sounded like a good life, even with the danger. She closed her eyes, and tried to rest.

~*~

She woke to hear a heavy grinding, whirring sound coming form outside on the street. She looked cautiously out of her window, and her heart missed a beat.

The Doctor stood leaning nonchalantly against the blue police public call box. He was staring intently up at her window, a small smile playing across his lips. Dylan was thankfully still wearing her clothes, she wasn't going to go running around in her pyjamas again. She dashed down the stairs and out the front door into the dark street.

He was lit by a nearby street lamp and he looked exactly as she had remembered him.

"Hello." She said quietly, her eyes narrowed. She wasn't going to be insulted again, not this time, not after the week she'd had.

"Hello Dylan Harris." The Doctor replied equally wary.

"Do you have to keep repeating my name?" Dylan asked, disgruntled.

The Doctor's face suddenly broke into a huge grin. "I like your name, Dylan Harris."

"Ok, what do want?" The abrupt question threw The Doctor. His grin disappeared to be replaced by a look of embarrassment.

"I wanted to as you something." The Doctor's face was sheepish.

"Oh," Dylan replied simply.

"Um…yeah…I was wondering…well, hoping actually. If you would well, consider coming with me?" The Doctor's eyes were focused on the ground, he shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Where did this sudden change of heart come from then?" It came out shaper than she had meant it too, but Dylan was angry.

"Yeah, sorry about last time. But I was still trying to forget the last time I had a companion, and I honestly thought I was better alone. But then you came along all recklessness and dangerous ideas and well, I realised…"

Dylan glared at him, he looked up at her his face looking considerably younger, almost child-like.

"What did you realise?"

"I realised…it's a long and lonely road without a friend." The Doctor's face softened, changing from being very young to looking incredibly old in a second.

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Dylan replied gently.

"How was the funeral?"

The sudden change in topic startled Dylan, her eyes widen becoming moist.

"It was fine, it didn't suit him, but it was good enough. You would have liked him."

"I'm sure I would have," The Doctor looked at her sympathetically, "I'm so sorry Dylan."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was, this is what happens when people travel with me, they loose those they love, and sometimes they loose their lives."

"Good job I have no one left here, and I have very little regard for my life then isn't it?" Dylan looked at The Doctor, grinning widely.

"Is that a yes to coming with me then?" The Doctor glanced at her smiling a slightly crooked smile.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

The Doctor's face broke into a manic grin and he ran forward to scoop Dylan up in a hug.

"Oh, you've made a 905 year old alien very happy."

Dylan extracted herself from his embrace, shock on her face.

"905! Is that how old you are?"

"Yup, older than I look eh?"

"I should say so," Dylan suppressed a gasp.

"And you?" The Doctor asked looking down on Dylan curiously.

"Me? I'm 17."

"Hmmm, the youngest I've travelled with. Still should be fun, someone has to teach you to be more careful." The Doctor teased her. "Go on then, go get ready."

"Oh yeah." Dylan rushed back inside to pack a bag. She grabbed her diary, this was going to get pretty full in the days to come. Dylan shivered with excitement as she ran back down stairs.

This was it, she was finally escaping. Who knew maybe she would return someday, but she hoped not. Somehow, she just didn't fit in here, on Earth, she would try her luck elsewhere.

"Off we go then." She said, bounding past The Doctor into the TARDIS.

"Off we go." The Doctor agreed following her in and shutting the door.

The street was suddenly filled with a grating sound as the mysterious blue box faded from view. Disappearing into the time vortex to any time any place, with its new passenger.


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

The figure stood in the shadows watching as the blue box faded from sight.

It flexed its limbs, its eyes glowing in the dark street.

That had been the target, he had sensed it. Sending a message to his superiors the figure tapped a long cane it held in its hands sharply on the ground. It issued a loud crack, sparks flying up from the base, and the figure vanished. Following its quarry into the vortex.

**Coming soon, Episode 2: Dungeons and Dragons**


End file.
